


by luck of clovers

by latenights



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Rain, Sunsets, two simple gays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-20
Updated: 2015-11-20
Packaged: 2018-05-02 13:01:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5249159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/latenights/pseuds/latenights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I know I said I was gonna be quiet,” Tendou begins, pouting petulantly, “but why is it so hard to find four leaf clovers?”</p><p>Kawanishi almost smiles at his childishness. “The estimated chances of finding one are 1 to 10,000, Tendou-senpai.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	by luck of clovers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Thisinsignificantpride](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thisinsignificantpride/gifts).



> Four-leaf Clover: According to tradition, such leaves bring good luck to their finders, especially if found accidentally.

i.

There is a place where Kawanishi likes to study. An isolated spot in the school gardens behind rows of azaleas and their crimson blooms, right underneath the shade of a young tree. It’s quiet, peaceful, just the way he likes it, the stillness only disrupted by the rustling of leaves and branches, the delicate scent of the flowers being carried by the wind. He flips through his literature textbook, pencil in his free hand as he taps the eraser head rhythmically against his knee. The soft tread of shoes against grass stops him. Rarely anyone ever comes here. Kawanishi glances up, slightly annoyed by the disruption, however slight. Tendou just smiles down at him before he folds himself down into a crouch, eyeing over Kawanishi’s book curiously.

A short pause. Kawanishi foolishly thinks he might be spared with a few more quiet moments. Then Tendou chuckles. “You study soooo much. You’re such a nerd, Taichi-kun,” Tendou points out, still smiling. One year of being around his senior has taught him that he never means any ill-intent with his words. It’s more affection than anything really, Kawanishi has come to realize. Without waiting for any invitation, Tendou sits down beside him and leans back on his hands, back resting against the tree trunk. Their thighs brush briefly. Kawanishi pays it no mind. There had been a time where he shrank back from the touch, unsure and unfamiliar of Tendou’s up-close and personal ways but those days have long passed by. It is no aversion now, the warmth of Tendou’s presence beside him.

“I have an exam next week.”

“Ooooh, so close to our practice match too! But you’ll do great anyway, Taichi-kun. You always do.” His eyes are trained back onto his book, but in his peripheral, Tendou is smiling proudly. Kawanishi pretends it has nothing to do with the sudden jump in his heart.

“I would do better if it were quiet.”

“Sorry!” Tendou says, not sorry at all. “I’ll be quiet now!”

True to his word, Tendou stays silent, focusing his attention on the earth beneath them, layered in a carpet of grass and clovers and small white flowers. It stays that way, back to the rustling of leaves and the flipping of pages, for a solid ten minutes before his senior starts humming. He should have expected it; Tendou is never completely quiet unless it was absolutely necessary or something was awfully wrong. But Kawanishi doesn’t mind. Tendou’s voice, rounded and full with happiness, is never an unpleasant thing. The humming stops abruptly, followed by a disappointed sigh.

“I know I said I was gonna be quiet,” Tendou begins, pouting petulantly, “but why is it so hard to find four leaf clovers?”

Kawanishi almost smiles at his childishness. “The estimated chances of finding one are 1 to 10,000, Tendou-senpai.” The numbers don’t seem to deter him, because Tendou immediately goes back to scavenging the patch of grass near him with eager fingers. Perhaps it’s out of boredom. Kawanishi doesn’t see a point in expending energy on something with such a laughable rate of success. As soon as he directs his gaze back to his book, Tendou’s outstretched hand blocks the text. In his fingers, a regular three leaf clover and a one leaf one (the rest of it plucked away, he thinks) twined delicately together by their stems. Eyebrows furrowing, he directs his confusion to Tendou, who only smiles at him, delighted.

“I know it’s not a real four leaf one, but I still wanted to give you some good luck.” He brings the clover closer to Kawanishi’s chest, his gaze expectant. It’s a pointless gesture; luck will do nothing for him. But as much as his mind tells him how dumb the idea is, his heart hammers in his chest, his stomach flips in all sorts of directions and he nods and takes it, lips curling into a smile without meaning to.

Their fingers brush briefly. Although the touch is light Kawanishi cannot explain the sudden heat in flooding his face, how his breath fails to work, clogging up his throat. Tendou’s thumb lingers briefly on his knuckles before pulling away.

“Thank you Tendou-senpai.”

His voice comes out quieter than usual. Tendou nods like he doesn’t notice at all but his eyes shine with its familiar, pleased glint.

“Anything for you, Taichi-kun.”

 

 

ii.

The sky had turned overcast during his second period, thick clouds swallowing up the last remnants of sunlight filtering through his classroom window. By lunch time, the soft beat of light rain against glass accompanied the clamor of students and the shuffling of chairs and click clacks of bento boxes. When practice soon comes around, Kawanishi quickly takes the long way to the gym where the ceiling raft would cover him, instead of making his usual shortcut across the field. His teammates yawn as they change. The lull of the rain makes their minds dull and bones weary. He understands. Even so, their coach still roars at them while they run laps around the court, a cacophony of whistle blows and energetic shouts until the effects of the rain are shaken off their backs and they move along, thud of shoes matching the rhythm of the shower outside.

Tendou eventually appears beside him, pace slower than usual to sync up with Kawanishi’s, and waves cheerily. He seems to be least affected by the rain out of all of them. “Hey, Taichi-kun, how’d your exam go?” he asks, keeping his gaze straight ahead so the coach won’t catch them talking.

“It went well. I received high marks.”

“As expected! Does that mean my clover worked?”

Kawanishi stifles a laugh, keeps his expression straight. “It means that all my efforts in studying produced good results, senpai.”

“Of course. Let me re-ask then.” He sneaks a glance at Kawanishi, smile lifting up higher. “Did my clover make you happy?”

Kawanishi nearly stops jogging, a mistake that would have earned him another ten laps by his coach. The back of his neck suddenly feels warm. He keeps his gaze intently forward, not wanting his embarrassment exposed, even though the flush on his cheeks are a clear indication of it. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Tendou looking pleased with himself. Kawanishi clears his throat quietly.

“It made me think of you, Tendou-senpai.”

Unlike Kawanishi, Tendou actually stops in his tracks, and as Kawanishi looks back he catches his senior’s open-mouth stare, and Reon crashing into him seconds later, sending the two third years tumbling forward onto the ground. Coach yells at them and Tendou rubs the back of his head and apologizes sheepishly. Kawanishi allows himself a satisfied smile.

Besides that brief interruption, practice spans out as usual. By the time cleanup is over and the rest of the team have bid their goodbyes in the clubroom, the rain comes down like icy pebbles, drenching everything in its wake. As Kawanishi makes his way to the steps lining beyond the gym doors, gym bag over his shoulders and textbooks in his arms, he spots Tendou hovering by the entrance, staring up at the gray sky. His steps slow down until he stops next to his senior. Without a prompted question, Tendou directs his gaze to him and smiles.

“Forgot my umbrella.”

“Did you not check the weather today?”

“I forgot that too.”

Kawanishi sighs and shakes his head, a feigned act of frustration as he digs into his gym bag and hands Tendou his small umbrella.

“I can only take you until we have to split up at our separate ways, senpai.”

Tendou beams at him and opens up the umbrella. They both try to squeeze under it, even though it’s clearly made for a single user, but Tendou does not mind getting his right side wet, if for the sake of keeping his junior completely dry. Kawanishi will never admit out loud that he finds the thoughtfulness endearing.

“Aren’t you cold?” Kawanishi asks, eyeing his drenched shoulder. Tendou just shakes his head.

“I’m fine, I’m fine! I just don’t want my dear kouhai getting sick.”

 _Dear_ kouhai. Embarrassed, he glances away, hoping the angle would hide his reddened cheeks. “Disgusting,” Kawanishi mutters without any bite. As if understanding his true meaning, Tendou chuckles and loops his arm around Kawanishi’s, pulling himself closer under the safety of the umbrella. Kawanishi nearly jumps at the touch but he keeps his expression neutral, despite the frenzy of his heart. A self-satisfied smile makes its way on his senior’s lips.

“Is this better?” he almost purrs.

“Extremely disgusting,” Kawanishi shoots back flatly, much to Tendou’s amusement, but he leans imperceptibly into the hold anyway.

His arm feels cold when Tendou leaves at the diverging roads between their homes.

 

 

iii.                                                                                                                        

“Walk home with me, senpai.”

Tendou only nods excitedly and slings his bag over his shoulders. He’s grateful his senior doesn’t tease or poke at him. He doesn’t know if he can pass off the redness of his cheeks as a sunburn.

With clear skies, they had no need to cling as closely as they did when it had rained then. Kawanishi is simultaneously relieved and disappointed and his lips curl down, always frustrated with confusing, contradicting emotions that seem to only well up around Tendou. They twist in his gut, makes his heart knock rapidly against his ribcage like it’s too much to take at once.

“Taichi-kun’s concentrating face is cute.”

Kawanishi feels breath on his ear and nearly elbows Tendou in the stomach as a reflex but stops his arm in time. Tendou laughs as he huffs and looks away, amused as always with every chance he gets to bring down Kawanishi’s composure. It’s completely unfair. Somehow, they have both closed the distance between each other as they walked, close enough for their hands to brush. Kawanishi shoves his hands into the pockets of his pants. If Tendou notices (he always does) he doesn’t comment on it. Instead, he takes out his music player and offers Kawanishi an ear bud, smile hopeful. Kawanishi has never shared music before. It makes walking together too difficult. Not that he has ever offered or been offered anyway. Still, he takes the wire in his fingers and puts it on.

They’re tracks after tracks of various rock bands, most Kawanishi can identify, some obscure to him. Tendou sings beside him, voice carrying far in the quiet of the road. If it were anyone else, he’d have found it annoying, found it a disturbance.

Kawanishi knows, Tendou only sings when he’s happy.

By the time they reach their separating point, the shadows of rooftops and curling branches have extended far beyond themselves, the sky glowing brilliant hues of rich oranges and soft pinks. Tendou takes the earbud back, the tips of his fingers brushing against the shell of Kawanishi’s ear. On accident, Kawanishi rationalizes more for himself than anyone else.

“Have a safe trip home, Taichi-kun,” Tendou reminds him.

“You too, senpai.”

In the soft light of the sinking sun, Tendou’s hair turns to a pale crimson. Kawanishi is briefly reminded of the azaleas in the school garden, their gentle scent, the makeshift clover, the brush of Tendou’s fingers against his own—

Tendou turns around, starts to leave and as he watches the elder take the first few steps in the opposite direction, urgency seizes him, speeding the frenzy of his heart.

“Tendou-senpai.”

It’s not loud. He has never been good at speaking up. But Tendou immediately stops in place, and turns around completely, gives Kawanishi his full attention (always, _always_ his full attention). He tilts his head, waiting.

Kawanishi digs into his bag, far more desperately than usual, shuffling around the contents until they toss and turn and nearly spill out. As he hand closes around the bookmark, he finds to his dismay that his fingers are shaking.

How silly.

He clutches the bookmark close to him. Tendou’s gaze turns questioning, and even more so, when Kawanishi shoves the bookmark at Tendou’s chest. Kawanishi yanks his hand away just as quickly as he had pushed it and stares at the ground, cheeks aflame.

“Taichi.” Tendou is inspecting it.

“Yes?”

“You painted clovers on this?” His voice is full of fascination. Kawanishi can’t help but smile at the subtle praise.

“Yes.”

“Ah, there’s a real clover in the middle! Where did you find one-“

“Actually,” Kawanishi interrupts, finally meeting Tendou’s gaze, “it’s the one you gave me a while ago. I… I pressed it on there, so it can last longer.”

Tendou doesn't say anything for a long while, only looks at the bookmark with fond eyes, thumb brushing over the pressed clover. His smile makes the corner of his eyes crinkle and makes Kawanishi’s chest stir with warmth. “Are you giving this to me, Taichi?” he asks and perhaps it’s just wishful thinking, but there’s a hopeful edge of his voice. Kawanishi hides his smile behind the back of his hand.

“I made it for you, Tendou-senpai.”

Tendou looks absolutely stunned, with his wide eyes and slack jaw, hair blowing gently in the cool breeze. Tendou is bright, glowing with the sun behind him. Kawanishi wants the sight to burn behind his eyelids when he closes them.

Kawanishi is the first to break the quiet. He turns around, ready to escape before he can combust on the spot. He can feel his senior’s gaze on him. He hopes it’s a happy one.

“See you tomorrow.”

“See you, Taichi.”

Tendou sounds happy. It’s enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Four-leaf Clover: The plant that says, “Be mine.”
> 
> Happy birthday, Mariah, my sunshine.


End file.
